The Making of Mr Ketch
by nomatter333
Summary: A series of stories detailing Ketch's troubled childhood both at Kendrick's and before.
1. Chapter 1

His father was never like this before. Arthur thought back to when they would walk along the beach with an ice cream, or kick a ball around at the park. He used to be so different. One night that all ended. Arthur didn't know what had changed, or why he had come home a different person that night, but last year, his father got home from work late and was never the same again.

Today, Arthur was already used up. He lay on the floor in a heap and did his best to avoid eye contact. Stare at the ground, the corner, the wall, whatever would look least aggressive. He wasn't even sure what this round was all about. He'd come home from football practice and took a bottle to the side of the head the second he stepped through the door. Now it was just damage control. He could feel that a few of his ribs were already cracked and his wrist should not have been hanging at that angle. At least Alex wasn't home, so he didn't have to worry about that.

That's when he heard the door open. His brother threw a ball in the bucket and came running to their room. Arthur tried to warn him away with his eyes. He tried to get him to turn around, but the second Alexander saw him laying on the ground, Arthur could see he was overcome with concern and immediately rushed over to see if he could help.

"Leave" whispered Arthur. But it was too late, Martin grabbed Alex by the hair and threw him into the door. Alex let out a surprised cry and then fell to the ground grabbing the side of his face.

Arthur picked himself up, stifling a scream when the fresh pain shot through his body. He dragged himself over to Alex and then turned to face his father, gripping his right side where his ribs were injured.

"I didn't think you and I were through" he spat at his father as he felt his blood burned with adrenaline.

Martin glared at him and then let out a laugh. "Apparently not, son. But we can fix that right now"

Alex laughed back at him and then threw a right hook which landed perfectly on his father's jaw. It was Arthur, though, who took the worst of the blow since he used his now definitely broken right wrist. He did his best not to let it show, but his father saw through him and the fury that contorted his face was joined by a vicious grin.

He grabbed Arthur's wrist and twisted. Arthur cried out and dropped to one knee involuntarily. Arthur yelled "Run, Alex!" and then took a boot to the stomach, forcing all of the air out of his lungs. "Get back here you little shit!" yelled Martin as Arthur watched Alex scramble out the door. Then his father picked Arthur up off the ground by his throat.

"Where did he go?" he whispered, inches away from Arthur's face.

Arthur clenched his jaw and his father tightened his grip. "You better speak now, boy"

"Okay…okay" Arthur barely squeaked out with his fingers desperately looking for a grip on his father's hand.

Martin loosened his grip and allowed Arthur to fall back to the floor. Arthur hissed in pain on impact and tried to catch his breath while cradling his arm gingerly. Martin squatted down next to Arthur and hooked a finger under his chin to force his face up. "Well…?"

Arthur took one more breath. "Are you familiar with a place called boardwa-" he was cut off by a backhand across the face which sent him to the ground. He picked himself back up onto his knees laughing.

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to play that little game of yours anymore."

"Eat shit and die, old man" Arthur rebutted with a wild grin on his face. He was immediately rewarded with a fist to the face and fell into welcome darkness.

Arthur came to the following morning in the same spot. His body ached all over and his wrist was the size of a melon. He tried to stretch and let out a tiny cry when his ribs turned to fire. He picked himself up off the floor and looked around the flat for Alex. He quietly walked past his mother who was still on the same couch she was last night. He placed the back of his hand in front of her mouth to make sure she was still breathing. Sometimes she overdid it with "mommy's medicine". Arthur, at 11, knew enough to understand that there was nothing healthy going into her body through those needles. Arthur was just waiting for the day she didn't wake up. Not that she ever truly did anymore.

Martin was passed out in his bed with a bottle of something dark spilled on the floor next to him. Arthur saw blood on his knuckles and reached up to touch his own sticky face, reassuring himself that it was his own and not Alex's.

There was no sign of Alex anywhere in the apartment and Arthur let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He then set about splinting his wrist and making himself presentable. He washed his face and hair in the sink and gingerly put on some fresh clothes. He grabbed an extra set of clothes and their backpacks and left to get to school. He tugged nervously at the sleeve over his mangled wrist. Last time someone came around the house asking about an injury, Martin had almost taken Arthur's eye out with a pair of scissors and nothing useful came out of it. Arthur wasn't keen to repeat the incident.

He made his way through the forest to where he and his brother would meet when they needed to get away. He walked over to their lean-to and whispered for Alex to come out. There was no answer. Alex repeated himself a little more anxiously this time and still got no answer.

Did Alex make it out last night? Was there another reason he wasn't at home this morning? How could Arthur have been so stupid? He should've held out for longer. Made sure his brother really left and was out of harm's way.

He ripped back the drape and his heart sank when he saw no one inside. He panicked and started calling out for his brother, louder now.

"Calm down mate. I'm right here" Arthur heard behind him.

He whipped around and almost sank into the ground with relief. His brother was fine. The left side of his face was puffy and bruised, but he was fine and he was here.

"Jesus…you look like hell, Arthur" Alex said. "You have to stop egging him on to get him away from me…he's going to kill you one day" Alex reached up to investigate the cut on the side of Arthur's head.

Arthur pushed his hand away. "That's for me to worry about" Arthur said with a smile "I'm glad you got out though. We shouldn't both have to take his shit. Now, let's get going."

Arthur passed the backpack and clothes to Alex and gave him some privacy to get changed. He sat down painfully next to the tree and absently tossed stones across the clearing with his good hand. One day, Arthur swore it would all be different. He was going to get Alex and his mother out of this mess. One day, he was going to save them both.


	2. Chapter 2

Several weeks went by and Arthur managed to stay under the radar. His injuries didn't raise any alarms at school and his father generally stayed out of the way. His wrist was feeling just about back to normal and he could get by now without his makeshift splint. He knew the other shoe was going to drop any moment, but he was enjoying the relative peace while it lasted.

Arriving back home was always the tricky bit. He cracked open the door without a sound and peaked in to make sure no one was there. The coast was clear, save for his mother who was passed out at the kitchen table. He grabbed a blanket off the floor and wrapped it around her thinking back to the many times she did the same for him. Back when things were different.

He started to walk quietly to his room and threw a quick glance into his father's room to see if he was there. What he saw made him stop in his tracks./p

Martin was facing the window, only Martin wasn't Martin. Arthur could see his father's face pulled back like a hood with a slimy, grey creature underneath. The skin of his forearm was thrown on the ground and half of his back was exposed. Arthur was frozen in place, not sure if he was seeing things, or if one of the hits he had taken over the last year left him with a brain injury.

He shook himself out of it and started backing slowly out of the door when he remembered that his mother was in there with that thing. He silently made his way over to her and tried to shake her awake. Her eyes lolled open and Arthur put a finger over her lips.

"Honey, what's going on?" she looked blankly around the room.

"Shhhhh" Arthur hissed. "We have to go right now. Pop's… not right. I don't know what he is, but he's not human. We have to get out of here to somewhere safe."

"Awww. Now that's no way to talk about your father, son" Arthur froze in place. "Stand up and face me, boy"

"It's going to be okay, mom" Arthur whispered to his mother as he turned slowly to face his father. Before he got all the way around, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his face and was sent sprawling over the table. He pulled himself up onto his hands and knees and immediately regretted it when a boot to the gut knocked the wind out of him. He lay on his back trying to catch his breath and looked up in horror at the thing that was looming over him.

"You should stop doing that to him" his mother weakly slurred out from her chair, head still on the table.

"What was that sweetheart?" He picked up an iron from the fireplace and connected twice with Arthur's left leg. He heard his femur break before he felt it and he screamed in agony.

The monster laughed down at Arthur and pressed the poker painfully under Arthur's chin. "Do you see how much you mean to her, boy? She almost thought about waking up to help you." Martin punched Arthur square in the face and the room started spinning.

Arthur felt blood rushing from his nose and glanced over at his mother still laying on the table, not raising a finger to stop this. His eyes swam with emotion as he realized there was no one to help him. No one who cared enough to put a stop to this. He shook off the fleeting despair and tried to keep his expression as neutral as he could. Better to not give this thing the satisfaction. He looked back to the monster and stared into those dead eyes with nothing but hate as he focused on keeping as still as possible under the pressure of the poker on his throat.

"Arthur?" he heard a panicked voice at the door. Alex. All Arthur could do was sob out "please, Alex…no"

The thing that used to be his father stared down at Arthur. "You've been a pain in my ass ever since I took this body and for some reason, you just won't settle down". It looked from Arthur to Alex to his mother. "That ends today."

He turned to Alex and pressed the iron even harder into Arthurs neck. Arthur let out a small gasp. "If you move, he dies, understand boy?" Alexander nodded stiffly.

"Good." It took the poker off of Arthur and grabbed a handful of his hair. Arthur grabbed its bare arm and struggled to free himself, but was too weak to even slow the monster down. It continued to drag him across the room to the radiator and then threw him against the wall. Arthur screamed as his useless leg hit painfully into a bookcase and he leaned heavily against the wall where he was left. The thing came back around with a roll of duct tape and roughly grabbed his hands. It put one foot on his broken leg causing Arthur to growl through yet another scream and started securing his hands to the radiator.

Arthur's vision was swimming by this point and he almost passed out from the pain. The monster slapped him, grabbed him roughly by the face, and shook him. "No! Don't you dare pass out on me. I need you awake. Watch carefully, boy."

"I told you to stop" Arthur's mother lifted herself out of her chair and faced the monster, swaying a little on her feet. "Wait, what happened to your face?"

"You have been tiresome throughout this whole ordeal" growled the monster through bared teeth. He walked over to a trembling Alex and grabbed him by the collar with one hand, quickly reaching out with the other to snap their mother's neck. She dropped to the ground in a heap.

"Mom!" screamed Arthur, tears welling in his eyes. He struggled violently against his restraints, but made no progress.

"Now, Alexander. You've always wanted to be just like your brother. Here's your chance." He threw Alex into the wall and punched him in the side. Alex cried out and dropped to his knees holding his ribs.

"Please! Leave him alone! Your problem is with me. Come and get me, shitbag!" Arthur screamed.

The monster turned to Arthur and walked over to him dragging Alex behind him. "You're right. My problem is with you, but for some reason this miserable, pathetic, piece of shit matters much more to you than you do." He grabbed Alex by the face and forced him to look up at Arthur. "Take a good, long, look at him. He's going to die right here in front of you, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"No! Please!" yelled Arthur with panic seeping into his tone. "I'll do anything you want! Anything!"

"I want you to do exactly what you're doing right now." The monster sneered.

Arthur struggled against the duct tape as the monster threw his brother around the room. He felt his wrist re-break, but barely registered the pain. Tears streamed down his face as he saw just how helpless he was. He didn't know how much more Alex could take. The monster grabbed the fire poker once more and raised it over his head. Alex lifted one protective arm painfully over his head, blood pouring out of his mouth, and one eye already swollen shut. The thing shot a smirk over at Arthur and jerked its hand back to deal the final blow.

A man in a suit and cowl kicked down their door and put one bullet in the monster's head and one in its chest. The thing crumpled to the ground on top of Alex and stayed there unmoving. The man ran over and kicked the monster onto its back and off of a now unconscious Alex. He put two more bullets into its heart, pulled out a blade, and crouched down over Alex.

"Don't you fucking touch him" growled Arthur from across the room straining forward against his restraints. The man looked over at Arthur then stood up and walked over to him. He crouched down in front of Arthur and studied him for a moment, head cocked slightly to the side. He suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at Arthur's head. "You don't appear to be in any position to be making threats, young man." Arthur looked up at the man with nothing but hatred and anger and strained his head forward to press it against the muzzle. "Fuck you." He spat.

The man paused for a moment and then laughed and holstered his gun. "I need to cut you and your brother with this knife to make sure you aren't shapeshifters"

Arthur let out a breath. "Shapeshifters?" asked Arthur suspiciously.

"Yes." The man gestured towards the monster laying dead in the room. "It's the only way I can be truly sure. Otherwise, I'd have to simply kill you both."

Arthur stared at the man and said nothing.

"I'm going to take that as your consent" and the man ran his blade across Arthur's forearm, laughing as Arthur snarled at him. He then cut the duct tape off of Arthur's hands and walked over to Alex.

"Cut him and you die" whispered Arthur exhausted. The man laughed again, and without hesitating, crouched over Alex and ran the blade along his forearm.

He turned back to Arthur who was still staring wildly around the room like a wounded animal. "Now I know you two aren't shapeshifters. So…what should I do with you?"

"Turn around and walk out the way you came in" said Arthur, glaring at the man.

"You're a tough kid…" the man trailed off obviously looking for a name, which Arthur was not inclined to give. The man laughed again. "Fair enough kid, but I can't leave you here. You've seen me, and you've seen the beast, which makes you a liability, so I ask again. What do I do with you…and your twin over there?"

He must have seen the brief flash of panic that crossed Arthur's face. "Now I see I have your attention."

Arthur kept his fury up for a moment longer trying to think of a way out, but his broken leg, unconscious brother, and the demeanor of this man all told him that wouldn't be possible. All of a sudden, the pain from his injuries and the emptiness from the loss of his mother washed over him and he let his shoulders slump forward in defeat.

"Excellent. You understand your situation and we can finally talk" the man said.

"Yeah, I understand. What do you want?"

"That's better kid. What do I want from you…? How would you like to join me and my organization and learn to do what I do?"

"Sorry?" said Arthur.

"Just say the word, and I'll get you and your brother out of here and trained up to get revenge on all of the evil things out there like the monster you've been living with for the past year."

"Yeah…uh…yes, please. We'll do it. Whatever it takes."

"Excellent. I'll have my people come by to get you fixed up and transported to Kendricks immediately. Follow every order they give you in a timely manner. Good day…"

"Arthur. Arthur Ketch."


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the man left people started flooding the room to clean up the aftermath. They rolled the shapeshifter up in plastic and carried him out the door. One of the men came over to Arthur and started to help him up. Arthur grunted and shoved the man away. The man looked annoyed and asked "Was Mr. Kinder not clear? You have to cooperate completely. That's the only way out for you and your brother." He held out a hand expectantly. Arthur hesitantly grabbed it and pulled himself painfully to his feet, careful to avoid putting pressure on his left leg. The man slapped a brace on his wrist and femur and sat him down in a wheelchair. Another man was waving something under Alexander's nose. Alex woke with a start and looked wildly around the room until he caught Arthur's eyes.

"Arthur…what's happening?" he asked in a panic.

"Don't worry Alex. Just do everything they say and we'll be fine"

Alex looked terrified, but he nodded and allowed himself to be placed in his own wheelchair, hunching over to make himself as small as possible. Arthur turned towards the door in time to see the men rolling his mother up in a plastic sheet.

"Hey! Get the fuck off her. She's a human being you prick!" Arthur yelled. He tried to stand up, but he collapsed to the floor when he put the slightest pressure on his leg. The men continued to pack up his mother despite his protests. A red headed woman in a skirt suit walked through the front door and made her way over to Arthur.

She gently placed a hand on Arthur's back. He jumped away from the touch and turned to look at her from the floor. His eyes were full of mistrust and barely bridled rage.

"Arthur?"

He raised his chin defiantly and remained silent.

She went on unphased "Arthur, your mother is dead. She is no longer here. What you see before you is not her anymore. It is simply what she has left behind"

Arthur looked to the ground to hide his tears.

"I'm sorry you've had to experience this tragedy, son. No one should have to go through something like this. However, as unfortunate as this is, the only thing that can be done is to pick up and move on. We want you to do that with us. Please allow us to help you, Arthur. Will you do that?"

Arthur looked back up at her and nodded slowly before struggling back into the chair.

Arthur stared straight ahead as they continued to pack up his mother's body. He and Alex were wheeled out of the room and into the back of a van. The drive to Kendricks was quick, but felt like ages. Arthur felt every bump and turn jarring his broken leg.

When they arrived at Kendricks they were ushered into a room with a woman wearing a white coat. She handed each of them a small burlap sack and started mumbling something that Arthur couldn't understand. She flicked some liquid at the boys and then Arthur immediately felt searing pain run through his leg, wrist, ribs, and face. He could hear Alex screaming next to him.

"What are you doing to us, you bitch!" screamed Arthur.

"Calm down kid. This is healing your injuries. You are going to have to trust us at some point."

The searing pain calmed down and Arthur grabbed his leg. He felt no pain there, or from his other injuries. Arthur gawked up at the woman, flexing his wrist in every direction.

"How did you do that?"

"Stick around to find out, kid"

A boy about their age gave Arthur and Alexander their uniforms and showed them to their room. They sat there silently on their new beds wondering what was going on. Moments later, the red headed woman from home walked into the room.

"My name is Dr. Hess. I am the headmistress for this academy. You will stand whenever you are in my presence. Is that understood?"

Arthur and Alex stood up slowly and looked at each other.

"Turn to face the door and maintain your position."

The boys shifted hesitantly. Unsure of what was expected of them.

"You will respond with 'yes, ma'am' or 'yes sir' when receiving a command from your superiors. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am" chimed the boys.

"Much better. Now, you are now at Kendricks Academy. We are an institution designed to build researchers, strategists, hunters, and assassins all for the purpose of ridding this world of monsters, demons, and anything non-human which preys upon our ignorant charges. You two are joining classmates who have been training for years, so you will need to catch up to and surpass your peers in order to succeed here. We have decided to give you both a chance because of the gumption you showed when confronted with that shapeshifter and then again with Mr. Kinder. We have no room here for fear, or intimidation. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Gentlemen, you will be tested here more than you have ever been tested before in your life, but if you give yourselves over to our care and trust that what we are doing and what we are asking you to do is all for the greater good, you will do well. Welcome to the Men of Letters. We have high hopes for you boys. Do not disappoint us."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You will report to intake at 0500 tomorrow morning. Best get a good night's sleep. You're going to need it."

And with that she left the room, leaving the boys to wonder what tomorrow would bring.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur excelled at the academy. He quickly joined his peers in terms of fitness level and combat techniques, and he spent his nights cramming all the lore he could find into his brain. He was able to take direction well and obeyed commands obediently. He felt secure with his superiors because, unlike the shapeshifter, when he followed instructions, he was commended, and he was only punished when he committed a punishable offense. He was comfortable with that set up and learned to enjoy the structure of it.

Alex on the other hand was not keeping up with the competition. He was just as fit as anyone else, but he made sure to blend into the crowd as much as possible. He was hesitant to strike his peers and had trouble reading up on monsters without transporting himself back to that cramped apartment with the shapeshifter that took his mother's life and almost took his. He would try to bring this up to Arthur, but Arthur didn't know exactly how to fix this. Arthur always told Alex he needed to just push it all down and forget about the past. That was the only way to move forward.

One day after combat training, Arthur was walking back to the school nurse to take care of a few cuts and scrapes he'd accumulated throughout the session. He kept on insisting that he take on more and more combatants as he was getting increasingly fatigued because he figured he wouldn't have the luxury of being well rested in the field. The instructors seemed to be pleased with his tenacity and encouraged him to keep going. Sure he felt like hell now, but in the end this was all going to be worth it. He was going to be the best soldier the Men of Letters ever had.

He noticed a commotion out of the corner of his eye and turned to investigate what was happening. His sore muscles screamed as he broke into a run after seeing his brother in the middle of an agitated group of students.

"Get the fuck off of him!" he yelled as he launched into the fray swiping at everyone within arms length. He fought his way to his brother's side and they went back to back fending off the other students. Alex was knocked unconscious by a blow to the chin and went down heavily onto the back of Arthur's legs. Arthur was dropped to his knees, but he continued to fight from the ground, pinned there by the weight of his brother. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he did his best to get as many shots in as he could.

"Line up right now!" boomed a voice over the noise.

All of the kids froze where they were and then scrambled to get in formation. Arthur turned around to check on his brother and tried to shake him awake.

"Arthur. I said line up." A tall muscled man squatted down to get to face level with Arthur who remained sitting on the ground holding his brother. Arthur glared at the man and spat the blood out of his mouth onto the ground between them. Alex woke up enough to mumble "did you get it back?"

Without breaking eye contact with Arthur, the man asked "get what back Alexander?"

"Nothing, sir" squeaked out Alex.

The man held out his left hand. "Whatever was taken from these boys better be in my hand in the next 3 seconds, or you will not like what happens next."

One of the kids came running out of formation, placed something into his hand, and ran back to his position.

"You're all to be in your rooms immediately. Report back here at 0500 tomorrow morning to find out exactly what I think of your actions here."

"Yes, sir" yelled all the students in unison. They then broke formation and ran back to their respective rooms.

Arthur and the man stayed where they were with eyes locked as Alex started to wake up.

"On your feet, boy"

"Don't call me boy, sir." Arthur mumbled as he helped his brother up to his feet and then stood at attention next to him.

"What did you just say to me, boy?"

"I said don't call me boy, sir."

"I will call you whatever I want to call you, boy. Did someone knock the sense out of your skull?"

"No, sir" said Arthur flatly with growing hatred in his eyes.

"You better straighten up, boy. I won't have any cadets trying to give me orders."

"Yes, sir." Arthur said.

The man turned towards Alex who was swaying on his feet. "Now I need to figure out how to punish you and your petulant twin, you pathetic piece of trash."

"Don't talk to him like that, sir." said Arthur evenly.

The man froze where he was and then snapped back to Arthur. "Did I just hear another order come out of your mouth, boy?"

"I suppose so, sir"

"Gloves off. Hands out. Now."

"Yes, sir" Arthur said, quickly removing his gloves and extending his hands in front of him.

The man grabbed his baton and brought it down on Arthur's knuckles. Arthur let out a hiss of pain and returned his hands to the same position. The baton came down again, and again Arthur kept his hands out.

"You will learn to obey authority, boy. I'll make sure of it."

"Of course, sir" grunted Arthur as the baton came down on his hands again.

"Mr. Badget. That is quite enough for now I think."

Badget straightened up. "Yes, ma'am, Dr. Hess"

"Arthur, you may relax."

Arthur brought his hands back down to his sides.

"And Mr. Badget. You are dismissed."

Badget turned around and made his way back across the courtyard.

Arthur and Alex remained at attention as Dr. Hess turned back to address them. "Tell me what happened."

Arthur stood silent, so Alex started to explain. "I was walking back after combat pract-"

"Not you, Alex. Arthur. Arthur, tell me what happened here"

"Yes, ma'am. I saw a crowd kicking the shit out of m-"

"Language, Arthur"

"Sorry ma'am. I was a crowd harming my brother, so I ran over to put a stop to it and wound up fighting half the class."

"Why were they hurting your brother?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

"How long had they been fighting before you got there?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

"What do you know, Arthur?"

"They were hurting my brother and I had to stop them, ma'am."

Dr. Hess sighed and looked Arthur up and down. "This will require punishment for you to consider what you've done. We have boys in sick bay getting seen to because of injuries you gave them tonight. We cannot allow any infighting."

"Yes, ma'am." Arthur said without flinching.

"Ma'am, that's not fair. He was only defending me." interjected Alex.

"If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it, Alexander. Your brother needs to learn that he is loyal to the group. Not the person. This is a lesson that is particularly difficult with you constantly needing his assistance." Seeing Arthur opening his mouth to retort she added "and I don't need to hear anything further from you, Arthur. You've said quite enough tonight already."

"Yes ma'am" said Arthur.

"Alex, return to your room. Arthur, with me."

"Yes ma'am" said both boys. Alex threw an apologetic look at Arthur before turning to head back to his room.

Dr. Hess started walking in the opposite direction and Arthur fell in behind her walking to God knows where. They walked past every part of the campus that Arthur was familiar with and he started to the same knot in his stomach that he would get when the shapeshifter would get agitated back home. They came up to a vault like door with a guard posted next to it.

"Stay here"

"Yes, ma'am."

Dr. Hess walked over to the guard and said something to him. He turned to the door and opened it up.

"Get in, Arthur"

"Ma'am?"

"That was an order, Arthur. I expect it to be obeyed immediately."

"Yes, ma'am" said Arthur and he stepped into the vault. It was a well-lit steel room with a metal platform meant be a bed. There was one small vent in the middle of the ceiling. He turned around to face Dr. Hess and saw the door shutting on him. Then the lights shut off and he was left in complete darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur didn't know how long he had been stuck in that hell hole. There was no way to tell the time. There was only darkness. If he had to guess. He'd say it had been about two weeks. He'd been trying to keep up with his fitness while stuck in this pit, and the routine helped him to stay sane. The only interaction he'd had in the last several weeks were the sporadic meals which were shoved through a slot in the wall. It seemed like the timing was random, which made sense to Arthur if they were trying to confuse his sense of time.

One day, or night, all of the lights came on. Arthur was momentarily blinded and backed himself up against a wall to get his bearings. By the time he was able to open his eyes, Dr. Hess had appeared sitting on his makeshift bed. Arthur immediately stood up with eyes front.

"Ma'am?"

"Good to see you haven't lost the first lesson I ever taught you. Do you know how long you've been in here Arthur?"

"About two weeks, ma'am."

Dr. Hess smirked. "That's the closest anyone has come in years. You've been in here for 10 days, Arthur. And I'm inclined to let you out. What do you think about that?"

Arthur shifted uncertainly sensing a trap. "I would like that ma'am. I'm eager to rejoin my class."

"Excellent. First we need to come to an understanding."

"The code and the organization always comes first ma'am. I understand that."

"You see. I don't think you do Arthur. I think that Alexander comes first for you and we cannot have that divided loyalty in this organization." Dr. Hess studied Arthur for a moment and then pulled something out of her pocket. "Come here Arthur."

Arthur quickly walked to her side.

"This was what your brother was fighting over. The boys had taken it from him and he took issue with it." She showed him a small red celtic cross necklace. Arthur looked down and immediately clenched his jaw and looked away.

"What does this mean to you?"

"My father gave that necklace to my mother before…"

"Before what, Arthur?"

"Before the shapeshifter took his place and mother started shooting up H as a hobby." He spat out disgusted. "I understand he took that necklace as a keepsake of those times, ma'am."

"And this bothers you."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Why?"

"I've told him he needs to let the past go, ma'am."

"Have you let the past go?"

Arthur hesitated. "Yes, ma'am."

"What about your brother?"

"He has not, ma'am."

"That's not what I meant."

"Ma'am?"

"Have you let go of your brother?"

Arthur looked confused at Dr. Hess. "He isn't in the past"

Dr. Hess raised one eyebrow.

Arthur straightened up with eyes front. "He isn't in the past, he's with me right now…ma'am."

"Arthur. He is the part of your past that is holding you back. Your relationship with him is in the past. You are no longer his protector. In fact, your relationship with him is holding him back too."

"Ma'am?"

"By protecting him, you are preventing him from growing within our organization. He feels safe to live in the past because you are protecting him in the present. Without being pushed and sometimes being hurt, he will never become what he was meant to be."

Arthur bristled because he didn't want her to be right, but she made a good case. Arthur relaxed his shoulders. "I will work on letting him go ma'am. For both of our sake."

"You will not work on it Arthur, you will do it."

"Yes, ma'am"

"The second item I wanted to discuss with you was your track. You have been selected by the old men to train as an assassin. Only the top few recruits are brought onto that track and only a few of the students on the track ever actually make it out to become one. You will essentially be the hunter that is called upon for special cases as well as the instrument that the old men use for more…delicate maneuvers. What do you think?"

"Ma'am…I don't know what to say. It would be an honor to serve the men of letters in that capacity."

"The only stipulation is that you must be wholly and completely loyal to us and to the code. You must follow all orders unquestioningly…and that quality will be tested to the extreme. Do you think you are ready for that?"

"Of course, ma'am. I'm ready."

Dr. Hess handed Arthur the cross. "Go rejoin your classmates."

"Yes ma'am."

The door opened and Arthur immediately walked out. It was night out which was surprising to Arthur, but not unreasonable. He walked back through the unfamiliar corridors to the ones he had grown accustomed to, relishing his freedom to move about freely. As soon as he got back out to the courtyard, a scrum broke loose and Arthur saw his brother on the losing end of a fistfight over a football game. His body screamed for him to run over and take care of the problem, but he remembered Dr. Hess' warning and turned his back to continue walking to his room without getting involved.


	6. Chapter 6

Ten months had passed since the boys had arrived on campus. Arthur continued to improve, always going over and above in all of his classes. He was the obvious front runner for the top of the class. The assassins track didn't start full swing until next year, so Arthur was still taking the same baseline classes as the rest of the students.

Alex was also doing well in his own way. Ever since Arthur stopped fighting his battles, his combat skills improved by leaps and bounds, but it was his intellect that he relied on most. Arthur was very proud of how far they both had come from the scared little boys cowering away from the monster in the room. They made a fantastic team and always beat their peers in paired competitions. Arthur was excited for a life running around with his twin exterminating evil.

One afternoon, Arthur received word that he was expected in Dr. Hess' office at 1400. He knew that he was going to be tested prior to commencement of the assassin's track, so this summons did not come as a surprise. What was a surprise, however, was running into his brother on his arrival.

"What are you doing here?" asked Arthur.

"I could ask you the same thing." laughed Alex. "I was told to present to Dr. Hess for evaluation. Not sure why. You?"

"I assumed I was here for the assassins track evaluation, but now I'm not so sure." responded Arthur. He was already suspicious of this set-up.

They didn't have to wait for long before Dr. Hess opened her door and summoned them inside. Upon walking in, Arthur noticed a plastic sheet covering the floor under their feet. This raised some alarms in his head, but he made sure it didn't come out on his face. The boys entered the room and stood side by side in front of her desk.

"Arthur, Alex. You have both conquered many trials here at Kendricks. Either through harnessing sheer animal rage, or old-fashioned hard work, but today, today we'll learn which of you will matriculate to the next level of training. This organization does important work, gentlemen. Work which allows millions of people to sleep safely in their beds at night. But in order to do this work, to protect those people, we need cadets who will employ their skills and execute orders without question. And so, only one of you will be leaving this room. Good luck." Dr. Hess revealed a blade and started to walk out of the room.

Arthur stood there motionless, showing nothing on his face until the door had closed behind her. And the second it did, he broke and walked over to the blade, running a finger along the edge. It cut him easily.

"No. Absolutely not. This is not happening Alex." Arthur walked over to the window to see if it would open. "We can run away. We can refuse. All I know is that this is absolutely not going to happen." He pulled on the window with everything he had, but it wouldn't budge. As he turned to try the next window, he saw Alex pick up the blade and look at it.

"Alex…what are you doing?"

Alex looked at the blade and turned it in his hand. "You know we don't stand a chance against them. They have enough resources to find us anywhere. Besides, what they're doing is too important. They've been good to us, Arthur. Think about where we'd be right now if it weren't for them. Think about all the other kids that are where we were. Kids you could help if you stay here. You can make a difference. Not me…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Alex." Arthur started to walk across the room annoyed, with his hand out.

"Don't move, Arthur. I will do it" He turned the blade towards his stomach and cocked his head looking at Arthur warningly. Arthur stopped in his tracks and put his hands up.

"You can do great things with them. I've seen it. You're the best they've got here. It's like you were built with this purpose in mind, Arthur. I'm different. I was never meant for any of this." His lip quivered as he let his head drop. "Arthur?"

"Yes, Alex?" Arthur said moving forward silently.

"Make this count. Promise me that…"

"Please don't leave me here. I can't do this without you" Arthur almost whispered with tears streaming down his face.

Alex looked back up at Arthur who stopped in his tracks. "You know you can. All our lives, I've been dragging you down, hiding behind you, needing your protection, but not anymore. You don't need to take care of me anymore. Arthur, I love you."

"No! Alex, you're the only family I have left." Arthur said pleadingly.

Alex paused for a moment. "The men of letters is your family now" and he plunged the dagger under his sternum and into his heart, then let it clatter to the floor.

"No! Alex!" Arthur ran over to his brother and knelt beside him cradling him in his arms and trying to hold pressure over the wound. Alex was chocking and sputtering up blood. "Shhh…Shhh…Don't worry Alex, I'm right here. Everything will be okay." Alex clutched at Arthurs sleeve and tried to smile up at him. He drew his last breath and his arms dropped to the floor. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no…Alex, no." sobbed Arthur clutching his brother's lifeless body to his chest. He stayed there rocking back and forth crying for his lost brother.

Something changed in Arthur in that moment. He felt it. A numbness washed over him and he didn't try to fight it. He looked down at his brother's body, said one last goodbye, and then allowed the last remnants of his humanity to fade out. That was the only way he knew how to survive this.

He straightened up and rested his brother's body on the floor. He reached into his brother's pocket and pulled out the red cross, then he rubbed blood over his hands and forearms and picked up the blade. He carefully wrapped the body in the tarp and then walked out the door to a waiting Dr. Hess.

He held the blade out to her making steady eye contact. "It's done ma'am. He's dead and packaged for disposal. What would you like me to do now?"

She eyed him up and down, almost put off by the lack of feeling in his eyes. "Very good Arthur. Well done indeed. Report to the great hall at 0500 tomorrow morning to continue your training" She grabbed the blade from him.

"Thank you ma'am."


	7. Chapter 7

Arthur walked up to the old lean-to in the woods behind their old apartment with a football held loosely under one arm. He pulled back the drape to see Alex sleeping peacefully on his side. He thought about letting him rest for a little longer, but he knew how upset Alex got when he wasted his mornings sleeping. Arthur reached out to grab his shoulder and gently shook him.

"Alex…time to go, mate." Alex didn't respond at all, so Arthur started shaking a little more forcefully and with a little annoyance in his voice "Come on, Alex. You're going to have to get up and come some time." He rolled Alex onto his back and then fell backwards onto the ground when he saw his brother's gaping, dead eyes staring back at him with blood staining his t shirt dark red. Arthur scrambled backwards away from the lean-to. He looked down at his hands to see they were stained red with blood with the dagger in his clutches. He started vigorously scrubbing his hands in the grass when he heard a familiar voice.

"Arthur, sweetheart…?" Arthur turned slowly to see his mother rounding the tree walking toward him looking as beautiful as ever. She rushed over to kneel down next to him and wrapped him in her arms. Arthur started crying in his mother's arms grabbing at her dress sleeves with his bloody hands.

"Oh sweetheart…why did you do this to us?" He looked up at her confused and gasped when he saw her pale blue, lifeless eyes and horrifically broken neck. He scrambled away on his hands and knees to the other side of the tree and sat there with his head in his hands trying to catch his breath and slow his thoughts. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into his father's sneering face.

"I knew you would be just like me, boy. I'm so proud."

Arthur sat bolt upright in bed pulling the silver switchblade from under his pillow with him. He looked around the room breathing rapidly with beads of sweat on his forehead. The lights snapped on and Arthur felt a hand on his taut back. "Ketch, what's going on?"

He steadied his breathing, continuing to look away. He regained his composure shortly and swung his legs out of bed to walk over to the sink. "Nothing Toni. Don't worry about it."

"It didn't look like nothing, Ketch. You were calling out for Alex…that was your brother's name, right? He...he was your loyalty exam wasn't he?"

"That's off limits, Toni. We're not to discuss the specifics of our exam." Arthur said casually as he started to wash his face.

"Everything's off limits with you" mumbled Toni as she got herself out of bed. Arthur didn't pay any attention to the subtle dig and went off to take a shower. He let the water wash over the back of his neck and he stared down at his hands wringing them together, remembering his brother's sticky, bright red blood that once coated them. He became furious at himself for allowing this weakness to break through. During the day he was steady and cold, able to do his tasks perfectly and without remorse. At night, however, when his consciousness was down, the nightmares would creep in. He gave himself one more breath and then allowed his mask to fully slide back into place. When he returned to the bedroom, he found Toni sitting on his side of the bed holding the cross necklace.

"How did you get that?" Ketch said softly from the doorway.

Toni jumped a little and then quickly regained her composure. "I was just looking for your pack to help you get ready and this was laying in the drawer."

"No, it wasn't, Lady Bevell. I thought you were a better liar than that. That was in a lockbox to which you would have had to pick to gain access." he stated matter-of-factly as he walked over to her pulling his black shirt on.

Toni looked annoyed. "Sue me, I was curious. I didn't picture you as one who would keep contraband in the night stand." She stood to face Arthur as he got closer. Arthur held out a hand without saying a word and Toni dropped the necklace there. "You should head down to breakfast…we wouldn't want to draw suspicion."

Toni stared at him for a beat longer and then turned and left the room without a word. Arthur waited for her to leave and then gently placed the necklace back into the box, closing the padlock again. He turned and left the room to join his fellow students in the mess hall.

Breakfast was nothing special. The other students had started sitting away from Arthur after he'd started the assassin's curriculum. Part of his training was dealing out punishments to other students who had stepped out of line. That work doesn't make you any friends, but Arthur didn't mind. No friends meant no attachments meant no weaknesses which could be exploited. It made him better at his job.

Arthur walked back to his quarters to grab his gear before heading to training. As he placed his key in the door, he made out barely perceptible noises coming from within his room. He continued to turn the key and then burst into his room lunging for the first person he saw. He kicked out the man's knee and then turned his attention to the person to his left. Ducking beneath a strong hook, he swung his leg out to catch the man's ankles and pull him off of his feet. Before he even hit the floor Ketch was on top of him, one hand on his throat and one pulled back ready to strike. He was then tackled from behind, but he rolled out of it to come out on top of his attacker. He jammed his forearm into the man's throat and braced with his other arm ready to crush his trachea.

"Stop now, Mr. Ketch! Do not resist." Arthur immediately released the pressure from the man's throat and was talked to the ground by two other guys. He allowed himself to be pinned to the ground with his hands secured behind his back and his head pressed into the floor as he looked up at Dr. Hess who was holding his brother's necklace in her fist. _Toni_ Arthur thought. A bag was placed over his head and cuffs secured on his hands and he was dragged out of the room. "You imbeciles allowed a 19 year old to take three of you out when you had the drop on him. What a shameful performance."

He mapped out where he was being taken in his head and was not surprised when he was tossed into a room where he himself had spent a good amount of quality time with problem classmates. The bag was removed from his head and Dr. Hess stood in front of him. He got up on his feet as quickly as possible with his hands still shackled behind his back. Two men walked into the room and grabbed either of his arms.

"Mr. Ketch, you are to cooperate completely"

"Yes, ma'am"

The men released his hands from the cuffs and ripped his shirt off. "On your knees." Arthur knelt down promptly. His hands were placed in shackles connected to the walls, which were then tightened to stretch his arms painfully to the side.

The men left the room. Arthur remained on his knees and stared straight ahead at the wall in front of him fully aware of what was going to come next. Dr. Hess leaned against the wall and allowed there to be silence for a moment. She pushed herself off and walked in front of Arthur. The crimson cross clattered to the floor in front of him.

"Look at it" Arthur dropped his gaze to the necklace. "What is this Mr. Ketch?"

"That is my mother's necklace, ma'am."

"Indeed. What are you doing with it?"

"I'm keeping it in my room, ma'am."

"I gathered that much Mr. Ketch." Dr. Hess spat out annoyed. "Why are you keeping a contraband item in your room?"

"It's the only thing I have left of my brother, ma'am."

"The brother whom you killed?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Why do you need a keepsake of him?"

"I wanted to have something to remember what he was sacrificed for, ma'am. Remember what I'm fighting for. Why I follow orders."

"You follow orders because you are told to. You follow orders because that is what the code dictates. You follow orders, Mr. Ketch, because that is what you do and who you are. Not because of some sentimental trinket you keep in your night stand."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dr. Hess looked him up and down for a moment, looking for any sort of reaction. She gave up with a sigh. Dr. Hess turned towards the mirror. "Destroy it and give him…40 stripes. This is his first and only offense." She turned to Arthur. "Let's keep it that way." She muttered menacingly, giving Arthur a piercing stare.

"Yes, ma'am. Won't happen again."

"It certainly will not"

Two men dragged a pot of glowing coals into the room in front of Arthur and threw the necklace on top. Arthur watched it slowly start to melt as the men left the room and one of his classmates came in with a switch and walked behind him. Arthur tore his gaze away from the cross and lifted his head to stare once more at the wall in front of him, ready to embrace the pain that was coming. All he knew was that Toni would pay for her mistake. At the right time and in the right place, she would pay for this.


	8. Chapter 8

Several months passed and Arthur's back had long since healed over when he was called to Dr. Hess' office. When he arrived, he was slightly surprised to see Toni sitting at the bench outside the door. Without a word he sat down diagonally across from her, staring at the wall to her left.

"It wasn't anything personal…you know that, right Ketch?" Toni said leaning into his gaze in an attempt to catch his eye."

"Of course Lady Bevell. Nothing personal." Arthur said evenly, meeting her gaze.

"I found an infraction and had to report it. The code is very explicit about that."

"I understand. However, don't play like you stumbled into an infraction." Arthur said smiling. "You went searching for one and jumped at the opportunity to elevate your name whilst tarnishing my own. It was well played and it will not be forgotten." He said with a nod and returned his gaze to the wall.

Toni looked him up and down before leaning back in her seat. Another student rounded the corner and Arthur stood from his seat as he recognized Mick, from the handler track.

"Good morning, sir" said Arthur as he stepped to the side of the bench and motioned for Mick to take his seat.

"There really is no need for that Ketch. I'm perfectly capable of standing while we wait. You can take your seat." Mick said

"I appreciate that, sir, but I doubt Dr. Hess would see it that way if she came out to find a hunter taking precedence over his handler, so I must insist." He once again gestured towards the seat.

Toni rolled her eyes. "Mick, you may want to get the stick out of your dog's ass. I think it looks uncomfortable."

Arthur smirked a little and folded his hands in front of him. Mick shot a glare over at Toni as he sat down. "Truly though, Ketch, we haven't been assigned together for too long. I want this to be a partnership."

"Once again, I appreciate the sentiment sir, but this is not a partnership. You are my handler and I am your tool. I will assist you in any way you require, but I would ask that you remember our respective roles. There is a reason it is set up this way and we have to trust in that."

Mick sighed as he turned away from Arthur, "As you wish Mr. Ketch"

Toni started to laugh, but was cut short when her own handler rounded the corner. She got to her feet. "Good morning, Christopher, would you like a seat?"

Arthur looked down at the floor to cover up the smirk on his face and Mick rolled his eyes and said "You're such a hypocrite, Toni."

She shot Mick a dirty look as Chris sat down and she took her position across from Ketch.

The four of them stayed there silently until Dr. Hess' secretary cracked open the door and ushered the students inside.

The handlers stood casually in front of the desks with their respective hunter's at ease over their shoulder. Dr. Hess walked into the room and Arthur and Toni immediately clicked to attention.

"You four have been selected to be pitted against each other for an evaluation of your skills both as individuals and at a pair." She looked from one group to the other sizing them up. "Each of you will be dropped at undisclosed locations around the country. Handlers, you will be given an item which must be protected. Hunters, you will each be given a blade. This is the only weapon which may be used. There are three primary objectives. First: Reunite with your counterpart. Second: secure the item from the other team by any means necessary. Third: Return both items to our armory here. The group to accomplish these objectives will be rewarded with one free pass."

She pushed a button on her desk and four men entered the room holding bags and rope. "The exam begins now. Good luck."

Arthur grabbed a pinch of Mick's hair and put it in his chest pocket just before the men placed the bags over the students' heads and tied their hands behind their backs. Arthur allowed himself to be steered out of the room and eventually placed in the trunk of a car. Arthur meticulously mapped out the course of their travel and chuckled to himself when he noted the car doubling back multiple times. Eventually they came to a stop and Arthur was unceremoniously lifted out of the trunk and dumped on his side somewhere in Manchester. The bag was ripped off his head and Arthur squinted into the light. He stood up and turned around to let the man untie his hands, but only received a hard shove. The man smirked at him, dropped a small dagger on the ground, and then jumped back in his car to drive away leaving Arthur in a parking lot with his hands still tied behind his back.

Arthur rolled on the ground over the dagger picking it up in one motion. He easily sliced through the rope to free his hands. Next, he pulled Mick's hair out of his chest pocket and placed it on the ground in front of him. He ran the dagger over his palm and allowed a few drops of blood to fall onto the hairs while whispering a brief incantation. He rubbed the concoction over his eyes and replaced it in his chest pocket. Kneeling in the parking lot with his hands on his knees and his eyes closed, Arthur concentrated on the images he was receiving praying that Mick had understood Ketch's intention with the hair.

Arthur saw a table at a small, dingy bar with city-like streets out the front windows. His gaze shifted downward to focus on a napkin with the logo for Jekyll and Hyde on it. _Good lad!_ Thought Arthur. He was even more impressed when he watched Mick's hand grab a pen from the waiter and write Birmingham across it. Arthur's eyes snapped open and he stood up looking around the parking lot for a vehicle.

When Arthur got down to Birmingham, he ditched the car on a random street corner and walked towards the Jekyll and Hyde bar making sure to double back on himself and make sure he wasn't being followed. He walked past the bar window throwing a casual glance inside to make sure Mick was still there. He laughed to himself when he saw Mick sitting in a booth still staring at the napkin. Finally, he opened the door and slid into the booth with his handler.

"Ketch?!" Mick whispered incredulously. "I wasn't expecting you here, so soon."

"Well…here I am. Now, what would you like me to do?"

"Right. First, let's find a car and gather our thoughts elsewhere."

"Yes, sir. I've already burned one vehicle on the way in, but I passed several suitable replacements on the way here. I'll go fetch one and pick you up out fron-"

"No!" Mick interrupted nervously. "We need to stick together."

"Of course, sir. My mistake."

"You and I will leave here and take one of those cars out of the city to regroup somewhere less crowded" Mick's eyes flitted from side to side as he spoke.

"Yes, sir." Ketch said eyeing Mick suspiciously.

The two slid out of the booth, Mick grabbing a duffle bag as he went, and left the bar. Arthur led the way to the nearest vehicle he had made note of down a side alley. He jimmied open the lock and then walked around to open the passenger door for Mick who climbed in with the duffle on his lap. He then climbed into the driver's side door, hot-wired the car and drove out of the city.

"Where to, sir?" Ketch asked after Birmingham was in the rearview mirror.

"You're not even curious?" said Mick.

"Curious about what, sir?"

"Don't call me sir, Ketch. It makes me uncomfortable. Call me Mick, please." Mick said annoyed.

"Of course, si-…Mick. Curious about what?"

"What the item is that we have to return to the academy."

"Will is help me do my job better if I knew?"

"…I suppose it wouldn't, but-"

"Then there is no need for me to know, unless my knowing would allow you to do your job better."

"Okay, Ketch. I suppose you're right."

"So…Mick. Where to?"

"Yes. Right. We need to find the others."

"Indeed."

"So, we should return to the academy to find something of theirs to perform a location spell. I was able to find the location of the other ingredients while I was in the bar."

"Okay. I will drive to the academy, then."

Mick must have noticed the slight jaw clench from Ketch when he agreed to go back to the school.

"What?"

"Nothing, sir. You have the reigns."

"No, Ketch. I need your- and stop calling me sir. That's an order. I need your input as well. If you have any ideas, or doubts, I need to know about them."

"Yes, Mick." He paused for a moment. "Returning to the school may be exactly what they would be expecting from us. It's certainly what I'm expecting from them. It would make the last leg of the mission much simpler if everyone reconvened there. However, if we gather an item belonging to their team from elsewhere and catch them off guard outside of the academy, we'd have a better shot at taking their item and then getting a head start to the armory."

Mick pondered the thought silently for a moment. "Where would we get an item that belongs to them if not from the school."

"I know where Lady Bevell's home is. It is closer than Kendricks" Replied Ketch.

"And how would you know something like that, Ketch."

"Do you want me to answer that si-… Mick?"

Mick looked surprised at the amount of power Ketch was allowing him to have. "Yes, Ketch."

"We dated briefly."

Mick laughed. "That explains the animosity I see between you two."

"Most of it. Yes." Arthur said clenching his jaw at the level of vulnerability that was being asked of him right now.

Mick decided not to chase it anymore noticing the significant discomfort Ketch was having with this line of questioning.

"Right, then. Take us there."

Arthur allowed his shoulders to relax, thankful that the moment had passed.

By the time they pulled up to the Bevell mansion, it was night. They stopped the car several streets away after passing the house and seeing that there was likely no one home.

"What's the plan, Mick?

"This should be a simple grab. You will infiltrate the building from the second floor, find her room, and bring me 3 small items, just to be safe." He handed Ketch an earplug and snatched some hairs off his head. "I've charmed this to transmit my voice and I'll be following your progress with the spell you used to locate me."

"Well thought out." Arthur placed the ear plug in and stepped out of the car.

Arthur made quick work of breaking into the home and silently made his way to Toni's room. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. He moved across the room to the cabinet looking for several small items to grab. A chest in the corner of the room grabbed his attention and he walked over to it. Several occult symbols were carved into the surface. Just as Arthur was reaching out to open it, he heard Mick in his ear. "Ketch, a car just pulled up to the house. I could be wrong, but I think it's Toni and Chris. They're already at the door." Ketch looked around the room and slipped into the closet leaving it just barely cracked open to the room.

"Arthur, I'm coming in for back-up." Arthur shook his head violently. "You may disagree all you want, but I need this win. I'm coming in." Arthur gave a slight nod signifying his assent however much he disliked the idea. "Better."

The lights in the room flicked on as Toni opened the door. Arthur watched with shallow breaths as she crossed the room to the chest and whispered an incantation causing it to flip open. She retrieved a small burlap sack from inside and turned to her closet. Ketch readied himself behind the door. The second she grabbed the door handle, Ketch rammed his shoulder into the door causing it to crash into Toni's head with a thud. She stumbled back several steps and Ketch took the opportunity to pin her against the wall with a forearm across her throat and the dagger pressed against her cheek.

"Damn sloppy, Toni. Coming back to your home. It's one of the few places I'd know to look for you." She glared at him and struggled against his grip until he pressed the dagger harder against her cheek drawing a little blood.

Just then Chris rounded the corner. "Toni!" he yelled.

"Not another step!" Arthur said evenly. "Unless you want your partner to be half blind." Arthur placed the point of the dagger dangerously close to Toni's left eye and Chris froze where he stood.

Arthur pulled a set of zip ties out from his pocket with his knife hand and threw them on the floor next to Chris. "Please secure yourself to the bottom of the bed post. " Arthur instructed returning the blade to Toni's eye when Chris hesitated. "Now, please."

Chris knelt down and secured his hands to the bed post. Arthur then punched Toni in the gut causing her to double over to catch her breath. He then stepped towards Chris and kicked him across the head knocking him out cold before returning to Toni and once again pressing her against the wall with his forearm.

"Now, what do I do with you?" Arthur sneered at her dragging the knife lightly over her face. "You took something from me. Something important. I owe you for that…indiscretion." Arthur pulled back his hand ready to plunge the dagger into her heart.

"Ketch, stop!" Arthur heard from the doorway. Every muscle in his body tensed as he registered the command from his handler. He kept the knife pressed against Toni's stomach and continued to glare at her.

"Sir, with all due respect, this is the best way to ensure that we come out victorious. Dr. Hess said to complete the mission by whatever means necessary."

"I don't care Ketch. She is one of us and the organization would not benefit from her death. I am ordering you to stand down now."

"Be a good dog Ketch and listen to your master" grunted Toni.

Arthur took one more beat and then whispered "Ah well. Maybe next time." Then he flipped the blade over in his hand and punched her across the chin to knock her out cold.

He turned around to face Mick with his hands folded in front of him. "What would you like me to do?"

"Ketch…you weren't really going to kill her, were you?"

"I was given a task to complete and her death would have been the most efficient way for me to carry out that task with the highest probability of success. So, yes, Mick. I was going to kill her. You, however, disagreed with my assessment and I, of course, defer to your judgement as my handler. Now, Mick, what would you like me to do?"

Mick paused for a moment, staring at Arthur in disbelief before throwing together a plan in his head. "Use what you have to secure them together back to back and throw them in the trunk of their car. We'll drive it around the corner and then notify the headmistress of its location once we return home."

"Yes, sir."

"Stop call-…you know what? Fine. Call me sir if you must, but do try to call me by my name whenever possible."

"Of course, Mick. I'll work on it."

Arthur set about following his orders and Mick grabbed the duffle bag from their opponents. The drive back to the academy was long and silent and both boys were glad to finally see the gates when they arrived in the morning. They walked into the armory with both duffle bags and were greeted by Dr. Hess' secretary who rushed off to presumably notify the headmistress.

The boys stood there waiting until Dr. Hess rounded the corner. Arthur immediately stood at attention

"Show me the items." Mick started to walk over to the two duffle bags when he saw Dr. Hess raise an eyebrow. He paused and then turned to Arthur. "Bring the duffle bags to Dr. Hess and overturn their contents."

"Yes, sir." Arthur walked over to the bags and turned them over to allow two heads to roll out on the floor in front of Dr. Hess. His eyes widened imperceptibly when he recognized his brother's face, but he quickly regained composure when he realized the age was off. It would make more sense if this were a shifter using Arthur himself as a disguise. The other head belonged to Toni, which made Arthur more sure of his conclusion. He quickly returned to his spot behind Mick.

Dr. Hess, who had never taken her eyes off of Arthur, inhaled sharply "Well done you two. I believe that is the fastest we have ever had any students complete this task. You were back in a little under a day."

"Thank you, ma'am" said Mick as Arthur stood silently over his shoulder.

"Where are your counterparts?" Dr. Hess asked, looking between Mick and Arthur.

"We left them secured in the trunk of a car just north of London. I can give the coordinates to the retrieval tea-"

"Let them find their own way back. If Lady Bevell can't make it out of the trunk of a car, then they don't deserve to return to this academy." She said disgusted. "You two on the other hand, have won yourselves free passes for one day. You may do whatever you like for 24 hours without rules, or consequences. That time starts now."

With that Dr. Hess walked out of the room. Arthur waited until Dr. Hess had exited and then he relaxed a little. Mick turned to Arthur. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to retrieve something that was taken from me." Arthur said. "May I leave, Mick?"

"Uh…yeah, Ketch. You're dismissed."

Arthur turned around and walked out of the room purposefully.

"Me? Well, I'm going to get drunk and try to forget this ever happened. Wanna come?" Mick said to no one after Arthur had left. He turned around and walked slowly out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur returned to school the next day with a fresh bandage on his hand covering a small tattoo of a red celtic cross. He didn't slow down with his training at all. He and Mick made the perfect team and they continued to excel in all of their assignments. Arthur, himself, was flying through all of the challenges and examinations that the academy threw his way. He was in his final year of training and would soon be joining the other assassins out in the field. Majority of his other classmates had either died during one of their examinations, or attempted to run off. The runners were invariably retrieved and brought back to the academy for execution, sometimes by Arthur's hand.

One day, Arthur was sent out on a routine retrieval mission to pick up an artifact from one of the hunter's at an off site location. It wasn't exciting work, but Arthur at least felt like he was contributing to the organization in a small way. He showed up to the drop location and did the prescribed surveillance before heading in to the inn. When he let himself in the room, he was surprised to find that his contact was not there. He sat down on the far bed to wait for his contact to arrive.

Arthur heard a key at the door and stood up to greet his contact. The door opened a crack and Arthur saw a hand toss a small cylinder inside and slam the door shut. Gas erupted from the ends of the cylinder and Arthur immediately sprang into action first trying to open the door to no avail. He then covered the canister with blankets from one of the beds to slow the spread of the gas throughout the room. He tried to open the window, but that too was locked. He felt himself becoming weaker and weaker. Gagging and coughing, he pulled his sig out and fired off two rounds at the window which stayed unbroken before he finally lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

When Arthur finally came to, he made sure to remain still and with his eyes closed. He worked to determine as much about his situation as he could before his captors knew he had regained consciousness. He felt cold straps over his wrists and ankles. His shirt was off and he could feel the cold slab that he was laying on. He felt a sharp pain in his side as his ribs cracked under a sharp blow. Arthur yelped and snapped his eyes open.

Arthur looked around the room to see where he had landed himself. The man that had struck him paced around the table rubbing his brass knuckles and staring at Arthur on the table. There was one other man and a woman in the room. The man was leaning against the wall casually inspecting his fingernails and the woman was seated at a desk appearing to take notes.

"Welcome back, kid" said the second man. The man with the brass knuckles took another swing, catching Arthur in the shoulder. Arthur once again cried out in pain.

"What do you want?" Arthur grunted through gritted teeth.

"Excellent question. We want to know about your extracurricular activities."

"You guys sure do take chess club seriously" Arthur breathed out between shallow breaths.

The second man walked over to Arthur's side, placed a hand on his chest, and leaned heavily onto his broken ribs. Arthur glared back at the man and hissed through barred teeth. "I think you know what I'm talking about kid."

"Please, explain. I'll help you however I can." Grunted Arthur.

The man looked at him shifting his gaze from eye to eye and paused for a moment before releasing the pressure from Arthur's ribs. "You can call me Mr. H. This is Mr. G." the man with brass knuckles waved mockingly. "You will be staying with us until we get what we want. Your stay can be short and pleasant, or it can be long and painful. That all depends on you, kid. Now. What were you doing at that inn?"

Arthur looked at Mr. H and G and then visibly sank into himself. "Okay, I just want to get out of here. You promise, you won't get upset?"

"Whatever, kid. I promise." Mr. H said annoyed.

"I was waiting for your mother." Arthur was immediately rewarded with a backhand across the face. Arthur started laughing. "There's nothing you can do to me that hasn't already been done, so if I were you, I'd just go ahead and kill me. I'm more trouble than I'm worth." Arthur winked at Mr. H who did not seem amused.

"You'll spend some quality time with Mr. G here and I'll return in a bit to see if you'll be more cooperative."

'We'll miss you, man." Arthur blew him a kiss. "You sure you don't want to stay?"

Mr. H walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"I guess it's just the two of us then big guy." Arthur said turning to Mr. G who immediately started throwing blow after blow. Arthur cried out again and again as waves of pain racked his body. When he felt his wrist break he yelped and then started laughing. "You know you remind me of someone Mr. G. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm sure we'll get there."

Mr. G punched Arthur in the mouth. "Shut up kid."

Arthur spat the blood out of his mouth. "Can do, big guy"

The woman from the desk came over with a rag and placed it over Arthur's face. Everything slowly faded to black.

This went on for several days until one morning Mr. H came in without Mr. G or the woman.

"Arthur, we know you had an…interesting upbringing and that you and your brother were saved by these people" He put air quotes around saved. "but, Arthur, they killed Alexander."

"You keep his name out of your mouth." Arthur snarled straining against his restraints.

Mr. H's eyebrows raised. "Touchy subject there now isn't it."

Arthur dropped back onto the table and returned his gaze to the ceiling, frustrated with himself for showing any cracks.

"Alright then…let's try something new. Mr. H placed the rag over Arthur's face.

Arthur woke up in a different room with his arms shackled to the ceiling over his head. He got his feet under him and lifted the pressure off his shoulders. He hissed with pain as he felt the soreness in his shoulders. He studied the new room he was in alone and noted the only viable exit to the room was the door directly in front of him. He racked his brain to determine who could possibly have pulled this off.

His pondering was cut short by the door opening. "Good morning, Mr. H." Arthur cocked his head to one side. "It is morning, isn't it?" piped Arthur.

Mr. H dragged a chair in behind him and sat down in front of him. "Arthur…you have no reason to be loyal to these people. They've only ever caused you pain."

"You're right. I should be loyal to you and your goon instead who have me strung up like a boxing bag right now…" Arthur laughed back at him.

Mr. H sighed and hung his head between his arms. "Arthur, last chance, what were you doing in that inn?"

"I don't know how to be any clearer that I will not tell you that under any circumstances."

"Alright, kid. I didn't want to have to do this, but seeing that the pain hasn't exactly been working, this is another option."

He pulled out a syringe full of some yellow liquid and injected it into Arthur's jugular.

"What did you just put in me?" asked Arthur "Tastes oaky" he chided smacking his lips together.

"You know, kid, if you weren't such a prick, I might actually feel bad for doing this to you." Mr. H packed up the syringe and turned to leave. He stopped just as he was halfway out the door. "Good luck, kid." And with that, he left, locking the large iron door behind him.

Arthur was slightly taken aback by his last, almost sincere, comment, but shook away the feeling noting that it was probably just a tactic to lower his defenses.

"Arthur?" Arthur froze with all of his muscles tense. He knew it wasn't possible. He slowly turned to see Alex behind him exactly as he remembered him.

"No. You're dead. I watched you die. This is a trick." Arthur turned around and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

"Arthur. Please don't shut me out. It's been such a long time…I miss you."

Arthur kept his eyes squeezed shut until a while had passed and he thought that the moment was over. He slowly opened his eyes back up to watch his brother once again plunge the dagger into his heart and crumple to the floor.

"No! Alex!" Arthur strained against his shackles until they cut into his hands sending blood dripping down his arm as he watched his brother bleed out onto the floor in front of him.

"Arthur! Help!" Arthur jerked around to see the shapeshifter bringing the fire poker down on Alex's head over and over until he was unrecognizable.

"No! Stop!"

"Arthur?"

Hours passed and Mr. H finally returned to the room. He entered to find Arthur with his back to the door and head slumped to the side. "Arthur?" Arthur whipped around eyes darting around the room. "Arthur! What are you seeing?"

Arthur stared blankly back at Mr. H and slowed his breathing. "Go to hell."

"No quips kid?" Mr. H asked searching Arthur's face.

"Go. To. Hell." spat Arthur with his whole body quivering.

Mr. H walked over to him and grabbed his face "Yeah…you said that already. I don't think I will. You, however, are probably there right now." He smacked his face lightly and then took a few steps back. "You can make this all stop if you'll just cooperate."

Arthur spat on the ground and raised his chin defiantly.

Mr. H sighed. "Have it your way kid." He pulled out another syringe. Arthur's eyes widened and he stepped back as far as he could get. "Don't even try to resist, kid." He injected the serum into Arthur's neck and then turned around and left the room.

"Arthur?"

Arthur didn't know how long this went on for, but every day, Mr. H came in to offer him a way out if he talked, and everyday Arthur told him to go to hell.

One morning, Arthur heard gunshots and then three men in cowls burst into his cell. He stayed still, head leaning against one arm with his arms fully extended and legs buckled underneath him. He stared at a spot on the wall and didn't even flinch when he heard them call his name. The men released Arthur from the shackles and his legs collapsed under him. He was helped out of the facility with one of the men on either side of him and was then transported back to Kendrick's without saying a word.

The school nurse mended all of his bruises, broken bones, and lacerations and sent him on to Dr. Hess for debriefing. He was quickly ushered into her office by her secretary who sat him down in one of the chairs in the room and left. Dr. Hess walked in several moments later and paused when Arthur didn't stand.

"Arthur." No response. "Mr. Ketch!"

Arthur turned his head to look at her and then slowly stood up and assumed attention. "Ma'am."

"Mr. Ketch, you have been through quite an ordeal and we are understanding of that. However, we need your full account of what has occurred over the last month."

Arthur took a beat with his eyes still focused and then with enormous strain, he honed in on a point in the room and began. "Yes, ma'am. I was ambushed at the drop site and brought to an unknown location while unconscious. There were 3 individuals in the room. I can provide descriptions if necessary. I was given the names Mr. H, who seemed to be in charge, and Mr. G, who appeared to be the muscle. The woman in the room never provided a name. They tortured me for information on my mission, this school, and you yourself ma'am. After they determined this tactic to be ineffective they transported me to the secondary location where I was found and began injecting a serum which caused vivid hallucinations. They continued to question me and I continued to reveal nothing. I will flesh out the details in my report. Would you like any further details now ma'am?"

Dr. Hess looked at Arthur as he stood staring straight ahead. "What were the hallucinations?"

Arthur paused before responding. "I saw Alex dying over and over just out of reach, ma'am."

"And was it effective?"

"I told them nothing, ma'am."

"I understand that, Mr. Ketch. My question was whether it was an effective form of torture. Would you recommend its use on enemies of the Men of Letters?"

Arthur considered the question briefly. "It was highly effective ma'am." He took a breath and glanced to the ground briefly. "It was the most effective torture I've experienced here, or of all the techniques employed by my captors."

"Excellent." Said Dr. Hess. "We have procured the serum and have given it to our R&D department for experimentation. Would you like to be the first to use it Mr. Ketch?"

"Ma'am?"

"We have one of your captors in the dungeon right now. And we'd like to see how this serum works for ourselves. I understand that this man was the one who was injecting you, so we would like to offer you the opportunity to exact your revenge."

"Thank you, ma'am. I would appreciate the opportunity."

"Excellent. Report to the dungeons and you will be given everything you need."

"Ma'am." Arthur said giving a slight nod before exiting the room.

Arthur walked slowly towards the dungeons. When he arrived, he was met by a woman holding the case that he had seen so many times. Arthur felt the familiar dread well up in his stomach as the box was opened to reveal the syringe, but he pushed it down and reached out to grab it. Arthur turned to the cell door and opened it to step inside. He saw a barely recognizable Mr. H strapped into a chair in the middle of the room with his head hanging. Arthur walked over to him and grabbed a handful of his hair. He pulled his head back to look into his eyes. Arthur smiled viciously as he examined the bruises and cuts that deformed the man's face.

Arthur raised the syringe in front of the man's face and shook it in front of him. He relished the panic that he saw spread across the man's face. "Please, don't."

Arthur looked away pretending to ponder his request, but then turned back to him smile widening. "You know, kid, if you weren't such a prick, I might actually feel bad for doing this to you." Arthur sneered as he plunged the syringe into his jugular and emptied it. He slapped Mr. H's face lightly. "Good luck, kid."

Arthur turned around and walked out of the room with a smile, soaking in the screams he heard behind him. The cell door closed with a thud behind him and he walked back to his room to finally rest.


	10. Chapter 10

Arthur was given five days off to recover before resuming classes although he had to check in with Mick each morning. Mick was always punctual and dismissed Arthur immediately to do whatever he needed to get back to 100%. Arthur kept entirely to himself for those five days and returned on the sixth to morning report with Mick showing no sign of what he had been through.

"Morning Ketch." Mick called out when he walked into the room to see Arthur standing by the door staring straight ahead.

"Good morning, Mick. Do we have any tasks lined up for today?" Arthur asked.

"Always business, aren't we, Mr. Ketch?" Mick sighed. "We should be getting one this morning though. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"The organization has been more than generous with the time they have given me. I'm ready to get back to work. If you have any concern about my effectiveness I would direct you to report it immediately."

"Ketch…I just want to make sure you're doing okay."

"Thank you, sir." Ketch said stiffly.

Toni walked into the room and allowed her gaze to linger on Arthur for a moment before taking her position across the room. The other students slowly filed in behind her and took up their positions as the waited for Dr. Hess to come in.

Dr. Hess entered the room shortly after the last student took his place at the back. She walked to the front of the room eying each pair of students as she made her way there. "As you all know. Graduation is rapidly approaching and the old men have finished their evaluations of the cadets to determine your order. You will be given tasks to complete for your final examination and immediately upon completion your assignment, you will be considered to have graduated." She looked around the room at all of the students again.

"Mr. Davies, Mr. Ketch." Arthur and Mick walked to the front of the room, Arthur hanging back over Mick's shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am." Mick said.

"You have been selected for the honor of being the first pair to graduate with the congratulations of the old men for being the top recruits of your class."

"Thank you, ma'am." Mick said with pride.

"You will report to operations for your assignment. The rest of you are to return to your regularly scheduled combat training unless you have a previously scheduled assignment for today. Dismissed."

Mick turned to Arthur with a smile which was met with a small smirk. They rushed over to operations to receive their assignment. Mr. Kinder met them there. Arthur was slightly taken aback. He hadn't seen the man since that night back at the apartment.

"Arthur Ketch. Good lad." Kinder pulled out his gun and pressed it against Arthur's temple eliciting no response. He laughed. "Just as I remember you, kid." He holstered his weapon. "I'm here to congratulate you on successfully arriving at the completion of your training. I understand the last month or so hasn't been the most pleasant for you, but you came through and made the organization proud."

"Thank you, sir." Arthur said with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you, sir." Kinder said mockingly. "Never thought they were going to get you to say that. You are going to need to lighten up and enjoy what you're doing, son" He laughed and handed an envelope to Mick. "Contained in this envelope is the name and location of a target. Your assignment is to track him down and detain him to bring back for interrogation. Upon your return, Mr. Ketch, it will be your responsibility to extract certain information from him. Is that clear lads?"

"Yes, sir." Chirped both boys.

"Well, get to it then."

"Sir." The boys turned around and left the room to begin their task.

They went to a study room in the library and sat down to open the letter. Mick pulled the paper out of the envelope and looked at the name written on it. His eyes widened slightly and he looked up at Arthur before placing the paper face down on the table. Arthur looked at Mick inquisitively and slowly turned over the paper to reveal the name.

Arthur raised one eye brow slightly, but remained otherwise unreadable to Mick as he read the name out loud. "Martin Ketch"

Mick let the name hang out in the air between them before asking "Any relation?"

Arthur lifted his chin and squinted his eyes slightly before answering. "Yes. He was my father."

"Your father?!" Mick said exasperated. "Wait…was your father?"

"Yes, sir. I haven't seen him since I was a small child."

"Well, do you know what he's up to now?"

"I had assumed he was dead after…" Arthur trailed off looking around the room.

"After what, Ketch?"

Arthur steadied himself and looked down at his hands. "How much would you like to know, sir? I prefer not to…air my dirty laundry"

Mick shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Ketch, I need all of the information you can give me in order to efficiently pull off this assignment."

"As you wish, sir." Arthur calmly explained his time with the shapeshifter and the last time he believed his father was actually his father. "It was a normal day. I can't think of any differences in the time leading up to the arrival of the shapeshifter which may help us know his current status. He went off to work that morning and arrived home late that night to beat the living hell out of me for the first time."

"I'm so sorry, Ket-"

"Sir. Please don't. Just…tell no one, please."

"Right then. We have an address. You drive and I'll work on casing the location." Arthur stood to hold the door open for Mick and the boys left to pick up a car from inventory and head out.

It was night by the time Arthur and Mick arrived at the specified address. They sat in the car and scouted the home for several hours watching two kids playing in the front yard before Mick noticed Arthur tense up in his seat. A car pulled into the driveway and a man who looked remarkably like Arthur stepped out of the car with a bag of groceries. They watched the kids run over to him and wrap themselves around his legs laughing. He stomped around the yard with them before tussling their hair and walking into the front door.

"Ketch…I'm sor-"

"Once again, Mick. Please don't bother. I will live. The past is the past. What would you like me to do?"

"Okay. Well Martin is the target. The family is to remain unharmed. Is that understood?"

"Understood, sir."

"We wait until night after they have all fallen asleep and then you will enter the home from the back kitchen window and make your way up to the room. Use these –" Mick handed Arthur a bag containing four rags. "-to incapacitate each of the inhabitants, starting with the children and working to the adults. Once they are all deep asleep, you will carry the target out of the garage to place him in the trunk of the car. I will back into the driveway in 15 minutes, so work quickly."

"Yes, sir."

"Mick, Ketch. It's Mick."

"Yes, Mick."

Mick rolled his eyes and stared out the window. The boys waited in the car until the last lights in the home went out. They took another hour and then Mick gave Arthur a subtle nod. He pulled on his cowl and slipped out of the car to make a wide circle to get into the backyard through a side alley around the corner. Once there he gained quick access to the kitchen window running a blade across the latch and he slid it open and climbed inside silently. He made his way across the kitchen towards the stairs and froze in place when he heard a sound to the left in the living room. The lights flipped on and Arthur saw Martin sitting in a chair holding a shotgun pointed in his direction. Arthur put his hands up slowly and turned to face his father.

"Hello there." Martin said, motioning with the barrel for Arthur to step forward. He placed a finger over his lips. "The kids are sleeping. Please, take a seat." Arthur crept into the room with his hands raised and sat down across from his father.

"Cowl off please. I prefer to see a man's face when we talk." Arthur reached up, slowly took the cowl off his head, and dropped it to the floor.

Martin squinted. "You're just a kid. They send you after me as your final assessment?" He paused and leaned forward. "Wait…do I know you?"

Arthur remained silent as he assessed the situation. Martin stood up and cocked the weapon walking aggressively over to a calm Arthur. "You better speak up, kid. I can't hear you." He pressed the barrel of the gun against Arthur's head and Arthur smirked. "Don't get cocky"

Arthur whipped his hands to the side to tug the weapon out of his father's hands and turn it around on him. "Get on the ground."

Martin dropped to his knees. "Please, do whatever you will with me. Leave my family in peace. They know nothing."

"Interlace your fingers behind your head."

"Please, say something. Will you leave my family? I'll cooperate completely."

Arthur pulled his hands behind his back and secured them with a zip tie. "Remain silent, please"

Martin shut his mouth and rose to his feet when pulled up by Arthur. They walked out the garage door and Arthur placed him in the open trunk. He walked around to the passenger side door and climbed in.

"All smooth, Mr. Ketch?"

"Slight hiccup, Mick. He was expecting us and ambushed me in the living room."

"But you got him in the trunk?"

"He got sloppy and allowed himself to get too close to me. I got the drop on him and turned the tables, so here we are."

"Well done then, Ketch."

The two drove off in silence until they arrived back at Kendrick's the following morning. When they parked in drop-off, Arthur went around to the trunk and opened it. Martin came launching out the back and took Arthur off of his feet for a moment. Arthur rolled out of it and placed a knee on Martin's chest to pin him to the ground.

"Do be reasonable." Arthur spat at the man beneath him.

"I want to know that my family is safe." Martin said back with more than a little panic audible in his voice.

Arthur looked at him with disgust for a moment and then sighed "We have no interest in harming your family Martin. They will simply think that you abandoned them in the middle of the night" he paused for a moment and added "much like you abandoned your previous family."

Arthur caught the shame as it crossed his father's face. He allowed himself to be lifted to his feet again and Arthur led him through the hallways of Kendrick's to the dungeons.

"I swear I know you from somewhere. How long have you been with the organization?"

"Keep walking, please." Arthur pushed Martin forward.

When they arrived at the dungeon, Arthur pulled a gun out of his holster and pressed it against his father's knee. "I'm going to remove your zip ties now. I need you to remain still and follow my commands, or I will have to place a bullet somewhere painful, but non-lethal. Are we clear?"

"Damn, kid, you rattled that one off like a laundry list. How many times have you done this?"

"Enough to know what I'm doing. Now keep still."

Arthur released the zip ties and backed away with his gun trained on his father's knee. "Please take a seat in the chair behind you and place your arms on the rests."

Martin hesitated and Arthur loosed a bullet next to his foot. "With haste, please." Martin shot a dirty look at Arthur as he sat down in the chair. Arthur secured the straps over his hands and then pushed the gun against his knee. "Please place your feet firmly against the legs of the chair" Martin complied and Arthur quickly secured the straps across his ankles.

"Hold tight. I'll be back to chat in a moment." Arthur turned around to exit the room.

"Kid. You don't have to do this. They don't own you. I haven't done anything to deserve what is coming, and I think you know that."

Arthur stopped in his tracks and turned slightly with a smirk on his face. "Oh, I do have to do this. And I believe you deserve everything that is about to come your way…dad."

Arthur continued out of the room leaving a stupefied Martin behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

Arthur stepped out the door and was slightly surprised to see Dr. Hess standing in the dungeon. He quickly came to attention.

"Report, Mr. Ketch."

"The target was acquired and is presently bound in the interrogation chamber as requested. What information are we looking for, ma'am?"

"Well done Mr. Ketch. This individual used to work for our organization before going rogue. He then became a founding member of the organization that captured you last month. We need to know his current relationship to the organization and any information he may have about their inner workings and members." She held out an ear bud for him, which he took and placed in his ear. "We will be monitoring your progress."

"Yes, ma'am." Arthur turned to reenter the interrogation room.

"And Arthur." He turned around to face Dr. Hess once more. "You will be the one to kill this prisoner."

"Yes, ma'am." Arthur said again once again turning towards the interrogation room.

He opened the door to see his father slumped over in the chair staring at the floor. He lifted his eyes to meet Arthur's when he heard Arthur step back inside.

"Alexander?" he asked.

"Try again." Arthur said walking over to the selection of blades on the table to the side of the room.

"Arthur…is Alexander here too?"

"Not anymore."

"Well, where is he?"

"He's dead." Arthur picked up one of the knives and examined it's edges.

"Dead…no…how did he…?"

"I killed him." Arthur said flatly as he turned around with one of the knives in his hand.

"Arthur…what have they done to you?"

"They've made me stronger, dad. They got me away from that…that thing you left us with and they taught me to defend myself and others against the monsters in this world. Monsters like you."

Martin searched Arthur's face. "What are you talking about?"

"No matter." Arthur pulled a chair around in front of his father and sat down in it studying the knife he had grabbed "Where did you go when you left us?"

"Arthur, son, it wasn't like that."

"I don't care much for excuses." Arthur leaned forward and placed the hand holding the knife on his father's knee. "I need information from you, and you are going to give it to me."

"Arthur, Alexander was your brother."

Arthur leapt up and punched Martin across the chin and pressing the point of the blade against his throat. "Keep his name out of your mouth. You have no right to lecture me about him. I was there for him when you weren't. I was there for him when that shapeshifter nearly beat us to death. I was there for him when we would go hungry night after night because it didn't think it was important to feed us. I was there for him when mom shot up every night and I was there for him when mom was murdered in front of us. I was there for all of it. Where were you?" Arthur spat furiously face inches away from Martin's. He looked back and forth between his eyes and then pushed himself away from his father. Arthur straightened himself up, smoothed out the front of his suit and sat back down.

"So, where did you go after you abandoned us?"

Martin looked back at Arthur "I went into hiding for several months bouncing from location to location to avoid getting picked up by the organization…Aren't you curious why I left?"

"No. That is not information I have been tasked to obtain. At what point did you hook up with the organization you are currently with?"

"They approached me after a few years on the run." Martin paused. "How about this. I'll make you a deal. You ask a question and I'll answer. I'll tell you everything you want to know. But, for every question you ask me, I get to ask you a question."

Arthur laughed. "I have nothing to say to you. Tell me the names of your contacts within the organization."

"You forget that I've received the same training as you, Arthur. If I don't want to divulge something then I will not talk and you cannot make me."

"Oh, Martin." Arthur smiled and shook his head. "I know you don't believe that. First, I would very much prefer to rip the meat off your bones to make you talk over answering any of your questions. And second, if we run into an impasse, I can always run back to your perfect little home and drag family number two in here to join you."  
Martin's eyes widened as he felt the weight of Arthur's threat.

"Play his game Mr. Ketch. If he is willing to give you this information easily and quickly, we should see where this road leads."

Arthur stiffened slightly and nodded his head slightly to acknowledge the order. Martin gave a sigh of relief. "I believe we will be doing things my way, then?"

"I suppose we will…for now."

"I do think it's my turn to ask you a question. And again, I remind you that we have received the same training in all aspects of interrogation. I will know if you are lying and I will return the favor if I suspect that to be the case."

"Fair enough" said Arthur. "Your go."

"How did you end up here?"

"In a van. Give me the names of your contacts."

"You know that's not what I meant, Arthur. How did you end up here?"

Arthur clenched his jaw. "Your friend, the shapeshifter, beat me to hell, tied me to the radiator, killed mom, and was about to kill Alex when the Men of Letters saved us and brought us here for training."

"Why did they bring you in?"

"Oh, no. That's two questions." Arthur said sarcastically. "My turn. Give me the names of your contacts in the organization."

"That's not a question."

Arthur leaned forward again. "Give me the names of your contacts. Now."

"Mr. Ketch, be civil. Make this work and keep him talking." Arthur stiffened at the command in his ear, but gave another slight nod to signal his assent as he leaned back in his chair.

"I apologize" Arthur said stiffly, eliciting a small laugh from Martin. "What are the names of your contacts?"

"Alan Huffner, Steve Galintos, Jessica Pennington, and Harvey Wentworth. Their aliases in the field are Mr. H, Mr. G, Ms. P, and Mr. W respectively…what was that?" asked Martin eyeing Arthur curiously after noticing his body stiffen slightly.

"When was your last contact with them?"

"No, no, no. That's my question. What was that?"

Arthur clenched his jaw. "I've met a few of the people you just mentioned. When was your last contact with them?"

"That was hardly an answer, son…I last saw them to drop something off a short while ago. See how it feels."

"I gave you an adequate answer to your query of why I reacted to mention of their names. Please do me the courtesy of the same with my question."

"Okay then. I dropped off the final iteration of an experimental serum with them about 2 months back. We met briefly to discuss next steps and then I got back to my life…now what was that?!" Martin asked nodding towards Arthur who had shifted forward in his seat and was now glaring across at his father with barely suppressed rage.

Arthur regained his composure and leaned back in his chair. "The men, Mr. H and Mr. G, whom you just mentioned. I met them when they ambushed me on a mission and tortured me for weeks using an experimental serum…presumably the one you dropped off for them?" he asked coolly.

"Oh Arthur…I'm so sorry."

"I don't need any apologies from you. We wouldn't have the time, so we may as well not bother with the pleasantries." Arthur said lightly with a smile. "What were the next steps that you had discussed with your contacts?"

Arthur saw Martin make a mental connection and watched as horror spread across his face. He hung his head. "We discussed capturing an operative within the organization to extract information using the serum in order to secure a foothold within the Men of Letters."

Arthur let out a laugh. "You ordered me captured and tortured. Well I guess it wouldn't be the first time you put me in the path of a sadist and turned your back."

"What did you see?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did the serum show you? It's designed to bring the your most painful and suppressed memories to the forefront and amplify them. What did it show you?"

Arthur hesitated, apparently for a moment too long. "Answer the question Arthur and keep your head." Arthur nodded once more.

"You don't have to listen to them son."

"I have been given an order. According to the code, I must listen to them."

"The code isn't an absolute, Arthur. You must know that it can be wrong."

"The code is absolute to me. Nothing and no one comes before it."

"What have they done to you?" Martin asked dejectedly.

"Alex."

"Sorry?"

"That's what I saw with the serum. I saw Alex, dying, over and over again and I was powerless to stop it. That's what I saw, day after day, for weeks during my little jaunt with your pals."

"I'm so sorry Arthur."

Arthur smirked "Once again. No need for apologies. We were both just doing our jobs. It wasn't personal. What is the location of your organization's headquarters?"

"We don't have headquarters, we meet somewhere new on a random schedule to prevent the entire leadership from being detained together. We thought we had made it off the grid after we started our new lives."

"Started your new life." Arthur laughed. "You mean abandoned your old life. The one thing I don't get though…why did you leave us with that thing?" Arthur blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Mr. Ketch!" came Dr. Hess in his ear. Arthur blinked, annoyed at his outburst.

"I didn't know he would…I thought…" Martin trailed off. "I needed to cover my tracks and placing him there in my stead meant a couple extra months where I could reestablish myself elsewhere."

"You sold our safety for a couple months on the run." Arthur laughed incredulously and leaned back in his seat again.

"It wasn't like tha-"

"It was a monster, Martin! What were you expecting?" He looked at his father for a moment. "You know Alex never recovered from that. He had nightmares, constantly, right up until…until he died."

"Don't you try to push your guilt off onto me, boy. You killed Alexander. His blood is on your hands."

"You think I don't know that?! Of course his blood is on my hands. It's interesting though that you don't see both of ours on your own." Arthur stared across at Martin as he paused. "Now, what is the location of your next meeting?"

"Not so fast. I believe it's my turn."

Arthur clenched his jaw. "Of course." He gestured to Martin with his hand holding the knife.

"Are they going to make you kill me once this is done?"

"No." Arthur said with finality. Martin relaxed a little in his chair. "They are going to allow me to kill you at the conclusion of our conversation."

"You have no idea what these people are capable of, son."

"I know exactly what they are capable of and I plan to play my part in helping them achieve that. Where is the location of your next meeting?"

"There won't be any more meetings, son." Martin shook his head. "The old men have already won. The only reason we're talking right now is to toy with you. You picked up H, G ,and P at our safe house and W put a bullet in his mouth because he knew you'd be coming for us."

"Ask him where we can procure more of the serum." Dr. Hess said in Arthur's ear. Arthur nodded. "Your turn, Martin."

Martin looked utterly defeated in the face of Arthur's indifference. "That tattoo on your hand. Why'd you get it?"

Arthur looked down at the back of his right hand. "This was the last good thing you ever did for our family. You gave this necklace to mo-"

"I know what it is. I asked why you put it on your hand."

Arthur looked up at Martin. "Very well, then. This is a symbol of where I came from. This reminds me that I am nothing and I have no one outside of my family here. This reminds me of Alex and his sacrifice for the cause. And this reminds me that the past is behind me and that attachments breed weakness. I look at this and I see every reason I should be loyal to the Men of Letters and the code." Arthur straightened his collar. "Now, where can we find more of the serum?"

"The lock box in the storage for the corner shop down the street from my home should contain several more vials for you sick people to play around with."

Arthur smirked. "Much appreciated."

Arthur heard the cell door open behind him and turned to see Dr. Hess walk into the room. He shot to his feet and stood to the side of the chair facing it. "Ma'am."

"You bitch! What have you done to my sons?!"

Dr. Hess nodded at Arthur who stepped in front of Martin and punched him square in the stomach to knock the wind out of him. Arthur returned to his position next to Dr. Hess as Martin coughed and gagged trying to catch his breath.

"Martin, I would ask you to please keep a civil tongue in my presence. I don't appreciate profanities." Dr. Hess said calmly. "And to answer your question. I helped him. He was going to die in that hole where you left him and his brother to be tortured everyday by your unseemly acquaintance."

"I –"

"I don't recall inviting you to speak. Mr. Ketch, break his right wrist."

Arthur stepped to Martin's right and gripped his hand while bringing the butt of the knife down on his wrist.

Martin cried out in pain as his wrist was shattered. "Arthur! Please. I know you've suffered, but I'm still your father."

Arthur ignored the plea for help and returned to his position by Dr. Hess.

"Mr. Ketch" Dr. Hess inhaled. "Break his left femur."

Arthur turned to the table and picked up a crow bar. He swung it into Martin's left leg three times before he heard a loud pop followed by more screams from Martin. "Son please…I'm begging you. Help me."

Arthur once again returned to his place by Dr. Hess holding the crow bar behind him.

"Help you? Like you helped him when he was a child?" Dr. Hess asked mockingly. Arthur smirked.

"Mr. Ketch, please break his sixth through eight ribs on the right."

"No, no, no. Please." Martin whispered as Arthur walked up to him, placed the end of the crow bar on his right side and jabbed the other end forcefully. Martin screamed out and gasped in small amounts of air. Arthur repositioned the edge and repeated this action twice more, marching down Martin's side. After Arthur had finished, he returned to his position with the crow bar leaving Martin slumped over to the right taking rapid, shallow breaths.

"Arthur. Please. You can. Stop this." Martin gasped out.

"Mr. Ketch, fracture his left orbit and nasal bone."

Arthur brought right hook forcefully across his father's face and then threw a powerful jab to hit him square in the face. Martin's nose started gushing blood, and he spat blood into his lap.

"Mr. Ketch, place your gun on Martin's head."

Arthur pulled his gun out of his belt and pressed it against his father's temple.

"Martin. Would you believe this is the exact condition I found your son in? I've overlooked older fractures, soft tissue damage, and lacerations of course because we haven't the time and the list was rather extensive."

"Please. I'll give you whatever you want. Please, just let me go home to my family."

Dr. Hess laughed. "Do you know what your son here said in this exact situation 8 years ago?"

Martin looked wildly around the room and didn't offer an answer. Dr. Hess put her finger under his chin to raise his face to her own. "He looked my agent squarely in the eyes as he held a gun to his head and said 'fuck you'. Your son here is three times the man you ever were, Martin, and he will make a phenomenal attack dog for the old men. You should be proud."

Martin shifted his gaze to meet Arthur's cold eyes. "Please, son. Don't." Arthur stared back unmoved.

"Now, Mr. Ketch." Arthur immediately pulled the trigger and watched his father slump over in the chair. He looked down at him for a moment and then turned to Dr. Hess.

"What would you like me to do, ma'am?"

Dr. Hess kept looking at Martin's body in the chair. "Arthur." She looked over to see him facing her expectantly. "Well done. Son, congratulations, you have officially graduated. Welcome to the Men of Letters. I will have one of the students dispose of the body. You are to pack your gear and get ready to head out on your first official assignment as a licensed hunter with your handler Mr. Davies tomorrow."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Dismissed."

Arthur broke attention and exited the room leaving his father's body behind him.


End file.
